RE-UP: Summer mix from '08

Just re-upped the first mix ever posted on this blog. It's a summerfest of genre-straddling, decade-spanning proportions and totally passed the deck test mere moments ago. Snag it if you haven't already. Original post here.

HOT ENOUGH TO BOIL A MONKEY'S BUM

1. Webb Wilder Everyday (I Kick Myself)
2. Limbeck The State
3. The Cryers Shake It Baby
4. Stacie Collins Never Ever
5. Garland Jeffreys Cool Down Boy
6. J. Geils Band Make Up Your Mind
7. Sam Cooke Shake
8. The Jags Here Comes My Baby
9. Madness John Jones
10. The Fleshtones New York City
11. The Heats When You're Mine
12. Blue Rodeo Love & Understanding
13. Rancid Things to Come
14. Diamond Dogs Scunthorpe Avenue
15. The Yum Yums Come On Come On
16. The Presidents of the USA Mixed Up S.O.B.
17. The Flaming Sideburns Slow Down
18. Bash & Pop Tickled to Tears
19. Starz Cherry Baby
20. Drive-by Truckers Like A Rolling Stone

King of Summer - the 2010 summer mix

I make these summer mixes as something that you can play during a BBQ or while lounging on the deck. Music that's just meant for sunshine and a slight buzz. Of course, I need to point out that these summer mixes only really work if all your invited guests are, y'know, me (and hey, you should be so lucky, amirite?), because it's typically focused on my usual musical obsessions which serve an admittedly smaller section of the populace than, say, the Black Eyed Peas. Also, quite proudly, there ain't a note of chillwave to be found on this beeyatch.

Usually my summer mixes span the decades, but for whatever reason this time out the only thing close to an oldie is Teenage Head's 1980 chestnut "Let's Shake" (RIP Frankie Venom), and after that the most ancient track comes from 2001 (which is "Any Way You Want It" by the Orange Humble Band, a mysteriously neglected supergroup involving Mitch Easter, Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, Jody Stephens of Big Star, and Daryl Mather of the DM3) . There's a handful of songs from the last couple years, while thirteen of the twenty-two songs are totally brand spankin' new.

If you happened to enjoy the Yum Yums mix, keep an ear out for the track by Caroline & the Treats, on which the lovely Caroline Andersen hooks up with Yum Yums mainman Morten Henriksen - you can do your own googling to discover Caroline's other career (hint: turn the filter off). The J. Roddy Walston track is from the upcoming (as yet unreleased) album, and currently only appears on the HOPE Campaign compilation, which makes for an awesome summer mix on its own right. It's available on both Amazon and iTunes for a mere $7.99 (and it's a good cause).

Anyway, enough chat. It's time to spark up the Q, pour those gin 'n' tonics strong, stare melanoma defiantly in the face, and melt.

King of Summer

1. Hollerado Do the Doot Da Doot Doo
2. The Rumours Get Together
3. Mishka w/ Willie Nelson Homegrown
4. The Henry Clay People This Ain't A Scene
5. Macy Gray Kissed It
6. The Arkells The Ballad of Hugo Chavez
7. Caroline & the Treats Bad All Over
8. Teenage Head Let's Shake
9. Attic Lights Summer Girlfriend
10. Rooney I Don't Want To Lose You
11. Ambershades Happy Now
12. The Dirty Heads Driftin'
13. Orange Humble Band Any Way You Want It
14. Supergrass Seen The Light
15. Japanese Motors Single Fins & Safety Pins
16. Hefner The King of Summer
17. The Like Release Me
18. Young Rival The Ocean
19. The Silver Seas The Best Things In Life
20. The Beautiful Girls 10:10
21. J. Roddy Walston & The Business I Don't Wanna Hear It
22. The Frank Popp Ensemble Love Is On Our Side

Covers Project Vol. V

Another installation of the ongoing project. Every song's a hit.

Oh God I Could Do Better Than That

1. The Hold Steady American Music (Violent Femmes)
2. J Church Don't Bring Me Down (ELO)
3. The Yum Yums I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (The Rubinoos)
4. Psychomania Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Robert Hazard, by way of Cyndi Lauper)
5. Neko Case Misfire (Queen)
6. True Believers The Rebel Kind (The Modernettes)
7. Smithereens It Don't Come Easy (Ringo Starr)
8. Joey Ramone What A Wonderful World (Louis Armstrong)
9. Barely Pink Don't Look Back (Teenage Fanclub)
10. Sour Jazz Dr. Boogie (The Flamin' Groovies)
11. The Dragons Bad Reputation (Joan Jett)
12. Trip Shakespeare (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, & Understanding (Brinsley Schwartz, by way of Elvis Costello)
13. The Come Ons Rip Her To Shreds (Blondie)
14. The Yayhoos Roam (The B52s)
15. The Hot Rats Queen Bitch (David Bowie)
16. P. Hux Do Ya (ELO)
17. Southern Culture On The Skids Life's A Gas (T.Rex)
18. Brendan Benson Let Me Roll It (Paul McCartney/Wings)
19. Teenage Head Wild One (Johnny O'Keefe, later Iggy Pop)
20. Bum Pool Hall Richard (The Faces)
21. Black Francis w/ Joey Santiago Cover Of The Rolling Stone (Shel Silverstein, by way of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show)
22. The Crybabys Vaya Con Dios (Gene Autry, by way of Tony Orlando & Dawn)
23. Baby Lemonade Bennie & The Jets (Elton John)

Hello My Name Is Mix (vol. 2)

With thanks to a few readers' suggestions, I've come up with another volume of self-explanatory silliness. Actually, the overall song quality on this one might even be better than the first. And there's already 17 songs compiled for a third volume, but I've gotta warn you - that one might include such un-Un-Herdlike things as Weezer's "Buddy Holly" and Barenaked Ladies' "Brian Wilson" if I can't find suitable replacements. Stop me now.

Hello My Name Is... (Vol. 2)

1. The Silver Brazilians Kate Winslet
2. Spearmint Julie Christie
3. Pernice Brothers Jacqueline Susann
4. Charlotte Hatherley Kim Wilde
5. Fenix TX Phoebe Cates
6. Idle Jets Karen Valentine
7. The Smugglers Alan Thicke
8. The Haints Carly Simon
9. Oppenheimer Cate Blanchett
10. William Pears Johnny Rotten
11. Brinkman Kirsten Dunst
12. Mambo Sons Overend Watts
13. GE Smith James Brown
14. Dogs D'Amour Errol Flynn
15. Who By Fire Madchen Amick
16. Darlington Jodie Foster
17. The Meanies Lee Remick
18. The Neighborhoods Evel Knievel
19. The Len Price 3 Julia Jones
20. The Gin Blossoms Keli Richards
21. The Sun Sawed In Half Janet Greene
22. Ridel High Wynona Ryder
23. Ozma Natalie Portman
24. Ride Howard Hughes

15 songs by the Yum Yums

It's almost impossible to describe this band in a way that accurately conveys their genius. The term "pop punk" doesn't do it - it's been marred by a couple decades of whining, tin-eared careerists - and to simply say they sound like the Ramones mated with the early Beach Boys gives short shrift to all three points in the equation. The Yum Yums come from a galaxy (Norway, actually) where nothing matters other than melody, momentum, and bright, fuzzy powerchords. It seems like an easy recipe, but it's only easy until you hear the 9,999,999 bands out of 10 million that fail at it. I can't explain it, but singer/songwriter Morten Henriksen and his fellow Yum Yums just get it. To me, this is the sound of pure, unbridled joy. I can barely imagine a summer without them. Not a good summer, anyway. This is a 15 song sampler from a number of their releases. Take 'em for a test drive and see if you can resist. "It's time to kick ass and chew bubblegum!"

15 Songs by the Yum Yums

1. I Wanna Be The One
2. It's Gonna Be A Hit
3. Let's Rock and Roll
4. Come On Come On
5. Twenty Four Seven
6. Shake Some Action (Flamin' Groovies cover)
7. Rock and Roll Tonight
8. Here Comes Summer
9. Forever
10. Miss You Baby
11. Out of Luck (Pointed Sticks cover)
12. Be With Me
13. Chewy Chewy (Ohio Express cover)
14. Too Good To Be True
15. 9,999,999 Tears

tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 14 from Whatever Rhymes With Baby (2008)
tracks 2, 4, 8, 9 from Blame It On The Boogie (2002)
tracks 10, 11, 12, from Sweet As Candy (1997)
track 6 from Come On Come On single (2002)
track 13 from Singles 'n' Stuff (2001)
track 15 from Funzone ep (2001)

Best of '10 (Vol. I)

I've got my annual summer mix coming along soon, but in the meantime that role can be filled by this collection of my favorite songs from the year (so far) . There's nothing on here that you won't already expect from this blog: power pop, garage, Americana, glam, and punk all mixed, matched, masticated, and otherwise mulched. Goes well with potato salad too, which is of prime importance 'cuz it's time for some of that hot patio action. Check it out.

Faves of 2010 (vol. I)

1. The Candle Thieves We're All Gonna Die (Have Fun)
2. Lucky Soul Woah Billy!
3. Quattro 134
4. Free Energy Dream City
5. The Men Tonight Is Mine
6. Locksley The Whip
7. The Cute Lepers Smart Accessories
8. Thee Attacks It's Alright
9. Delta Spirit Bushwick Blues
10. Slithering Beast S.I.S.
11. The Mynabirds Numbers Don't Lie
12. The Glossary Lonely Is A Town
13. Ted Leo + the Pharmacists Bottled In Cork
14. The Idyllists Sweet Loretta
15. Nick Curran & the Lowlifes Reform School Girl
16. The Krayolas Good Little Girl (She Don't)
17. The Quails Princess
18. Spoon I Saw The Light
19. The Dirty Heads Stand Tall
20. The Hold Steady Soft In The Center
21. Gin Wigmore Don't Stop
22. Sweet Apple It's Over Now

Un-Herd Music Decade in Review

A Top 20 of the decade. Yeah, right. If anything, this blog has proven to myself (and probably anyone else who reads it) that I am virtually incapable of compiling a Top 20 list. I find it impossibly difficult to pare down my favorite albums to a mere 20 in any given year, let alone an entire decade. I usually end up with a quantum Top 20, which is a Top 20 that numbers 25 (or so).

So, true to form, here's a Top 20 of the decade that manages to omit some of my absolute favorites from the decade. I just couldn't find a way to include songs from albums like Cat Power The Greatest, Amy Winehouse Back To Black, and Joe Henry Scar, but those three albums are most certainly part of the list.

Other deserving albums that aren't represented include My Morning Jacket At Dawn, Frank Black Black Letter Days, Jon Brion Meaningless, Joe Pisapia Daydreams, Warren Zanes Memory Girls, Veal Embattled Hearts, the Mendoza Line Fortune, Jim White Drill A Hole In That Substrate And Tell Me What You See, V.V. Brown Traveling Like The Light, and Marah Kids In Philly. Suminumbitch, it was a great decade for music. Maybe a second volume of a Top 20 is necessary. But now, let's get to the actual list. As usual, this is not ranked in any way. Where I've been able, I've included my original review of the album.

1. The Strokes - Is This It (2001)
Probably the most obvious choice on the mix, and not very "un-herd" at all. In fact, the way this album spearheaded a dumb mainstream "garage revival" is the absolute definition of herd mentality. But the evidence remains in the tracks themselves: this is a great album. They got hit by hipster flak for sounding like a variety of first wave New York punk bands, but the hipsters got it wrong (as usual). In reality, the Strokes don't sound like any specific band from that era, they sound like all of them tossed into a martini shaker.

2. Ike Reilly - Salesmen And Racists (2001)
"Stripped-down, intelligent rock'n'roll. If not for a few production touches, Salesmen & Racists sounds like it could have been head of the class back in '78, perfectly complementary with Graham Parker (circa Squeezing Out Sparks), Costello, Lowe, etal. A little more foul-mouthed, a little more world weary than any of those revered precursors, but a stiff shot of the good stuff nonetheless. Old school iconoclastic traditionalism. Refreshing at this late date." (RP 2002)

3. Ted Leo + the Pharmacists - The Tyranny of Distance (2001)
After doing time in Chisel and releasing a disastrous debut with the Pharmacists, Ted Leo found his voice with this album. And that voice is one of the most melodic vehicles in contemporary music. Released on Lookout! Records, a label known at the time for fairly generic pop punk (primarily thanks to Green Day), Tyranny of Distance stood out from the pack immediately. Leo wasn't afraid to slow it down, strip it down, or stretch it out. He borrowed from punk as well as power pop and classic rock - even getting compared by goofy web critics to both Thin Lizzy and Dexy's Midnight Runners. And his egghead lyrics never get in the way of his melodic hooks - so even a song called "Biomusicology" is something you can sing along to.

4. The Bicycle Thief - You Come And Go Like A Pop Song (2001)
This is essentially a Bob Forrest solo album, picking up where Thelonious Monster left off minus any forced need to rock. It boasts Forrest's typically open-wound/picking at scabs songwriting and delivered with a depth that was only hinted at previously. No surprise that if you chip away at the superficial veneer of the smart ass, you find a heartbroken optimist. Forrest has since been paying his bills as a counselor on Dr. Drew's Celebrity Rehab, playing the role of The Only Person Worth Listening To.

5. The Exploding Hearts - Guitar Romantic (2002)
God, what a tragedy. Here's my original review before the van accident that killed 3/4 of the band: "Zippy punk served up '77 style, from the shoutalong girl-group-derived melodies to the dayglo cover art to a mix that boasts all meters buried in the red. Lotsa fun, in other words, if just shy of greatness. Full marks for effort, though. This is what punk rock sounded like before it got codified into simple barre chords and zitty whining. If you've ever heard the Vibrator's classic Pure Mania then you're already well-acquainted with the game plan. And although it's all highly derivative, the Exploding Hearts at least show good sense and smart album collections in their choice of idols. It also helps that the band possesses an infectious exuberance and a seemingly limitless energy supply. With any luck, a million and one Good Charlotte-lovin' teenie punks will clutch onto this as their favorite album ever and all their subsequent bands will be formed in the image of the Exploding Hearts. And then the world will be a better place. Or something." (RP 2003)

6. Little Jackie - The Stoop (2008)
I'm still a little surprised Little Jackie didn't take over the world in 2008. She's gorgeous, smart, and talented, and she's found a sound that merges hip hop with '50s rock 'n' roll (and anything else that strikes her fancy). Her words are alternately sharp and silly, kinda like the songs themselves, but it's just such a perfect summertime joint that ejecting the silly would've ruined the buzz.


7. The Weakerthans - Reconstruction Site (2003)
Another pop punk band that rebelled against the constraints of the form. There's a little bit of folk rock and some pedal steel twang jumbled into the punk energy, and lyrics that aim to be literary. And mostly they even succeed at that lofty pursuit.



8. Viva L'American Death Ray Music - Smash Radio Hits (2002)
"Imagine if the Velvet Underground had given John Cale the boot and replaced him with Roxy Music's Andy McKay. Now imagine them playing White Light/White Heat in some condemned industrial space to an audience of disinterested rats. Chugging electric drones, honking 50's sax that accelerates into avant jazz shrieking at the drop of a dimebag, and Papa Lou's semi-tuneful drawl fighting through the mix. And don't forget about the rats. That, in a rotting nutshell, is American Death Ray's Smash Radio Hits. Decadent, trashy rock & roll from the retro-future." (RP 2002)

9. The Hold Steady - Separation Sunday (2005)
At its worst, this sounds like Bruce Springsteen reciting poetry in front of a Jersey bar band. But at its best, it's like Bruce Springsteen reciting poetry in front of a Jersey bar band. Potato potahto. The recurring characters and the Catholic undertones give this album a conceptual thrust that feels complete, and the songs are alternately wise-ass and affecting (sometimes both). Arguably, the Hold Steady may have written better songs on later albums (there's nothing here quite so immediate as "Massive Nights") but as a whole this seems to be their crowning achievement.

10. Tsar - Tsar (2000)
"A wonderful power pop album, almost old-fashioned in its faith in energy and melody. Ten hyper-tuneful songs blast by in just over half an hour, each one filled with the expected vocal and guitar hooks of their genre. But Tsar has a knack for the smaller details - whether it's a slight alteration in the repetition of the chorus, or an unexpected rimshot, or a perfectly placed "woo!" - that make each song more than the sum of its parts. If this young band stays the course and continues this level of craftmanship, their next album could already be declared a classic." (RP 2002)

11. The Jim Jones Revue - The Jim Jones Revue (2008)
It's like I'd been waiting my whole life for someone to hit on this sound. A sonic collision between Little Richard and a jetfighter taking off, Jim Jones knows one speed: FASTER. Boiled down to its essence, this is simply good old time rock 'n' roll, featuring a pounding piano leading a simple guitar/bass/drums lineup through some boogie moves. But, thankfully, there's more to it than essence. The intangible is attitude - and the whole band has it. As an added bonus, Jones finds the raw sexual subtext to the "Princess and the Frog" fable. Now I understand.

12. Grand Mal - Bad Timing (2003)
"The lyrics make the band's intent plain by slyly referencing both the Only Ones' Peter Perrett and the Stooges' "Rock Action", and listeners who don't need footnotes to understand those particular namedrops will find much to enjoy here. Whitten's main stroke of genius amounts to combining the wasted vibe and lazy riffing of Exile on Main Street with the sultry boogie sensibility of T.Rex (even adding wailing Lady Soul backing vocals on some tracks). The resulting hybrid replaces glam androgyny with a kind of macho fatalism that sounds immediately familiar, though trust me, glam rock never sounded like this. But it should have." (RP 2003)

13. You Am I - Dress Me Slowly (2001)
If I was Australian I'd probably a) have a better tan, and b) consider You Am I a financially successful behemoth not worthy of Un-Herd attention. But the fact is that despite their success in their homeland they've sold about twelve albums in total outside of it. This is a band that's determinedly old school; there's a classic rock aura to them that's inescapable. It's the classic rock of bands like the Faces and the Stones, however, which means they're absolutely hooked into the timelessness of genuine rock tradition (in the same way as, for example, the Replacements). Most of their albums are worthwhile, but Dress Me Slowly doesn't contain a single duff track.

14. Spoon - Gimme Fiction (2005)
"Last year when band leader Britt Daniel attempted to describe the direction he was taking on Gimme Fiction as "Marvin Gaye meets Wire" he came close to hitting the bullseye. Like early Wire, this is taut guitar rock that traffics in tension more than release; and like Marvin Gaye, it's brimming with soul and groove. But as far as sonic antecedents go, I'd also add John Lennon's Plastic Ono Band in there, mostly due to Britt's vocal similarities, but also because of the confident and deliberate use of space to cushion each near-majestic chime of the keyboard. When Britt hits the chorus on opening song "The Beast And Dragon, Adored" he sounds like he's channeling the very soul of Lennon himself and, fittingly, he does so while declaring his rediscovered belief in rock and roll. It's a thrilling moment - and it perfectly sets the tone for Spoon's most fully realized album to date. Spoon opened (their previous album) Kill The Moonlight with "Small Stakes", a song in which Britt Daniel declared that his ambition lay well beyond the constricting walls of indie rock. Gimme Fiction razes those walls to rubble." (RP 2005)

15. Roman Candle - The Wee Hours Revue (2006)
Previously released as Say Pop, Roman Candle decided to remix that album and add a song. The resulting re-release got it right, from the new title and graphics to the mix itself. This is pop, but it mines a distinctly late-night vibe. Not exactly mellow, but also never far from melancholy - and every song spools out with at least a couple baited hooks. Low-key perfection.

16. J. Roddy Walston & The Business - Hail Mega Boys (2007)
"One of those rare albums where every song bursts out of the gate in an avalanche of ideas and with such unflagging energy that you wonder how the band ever got quite that stoked to begin with. Songs like "Rock & Roll The Second", "Used To Did" and "Go For It" are reminiscent of the best hard rock moments of Mott the Hoople, all pounding pianos and thick chording, while others stay more in the bar band realm of alt.Americana, and "Mommie Bomb" even tosses in some sub-Queen dancehall moves - and then there are others that just mix all that in a cuisinart in a way that'll leave you shaking your head in wonder. It's a perfectly chaotic document of a band that's willing to try anything and everything. Just makes me glad to be breathing." (RP2009)

17. The Libertines - The Libertines (2004)
A tad more chaotic than their debut album, which is why I give this one the nod. The Libertines' Pete Doherty and Carl Barat were once going to take on the world, and this album finds the two of them at the very moment of realization that drug addiction was the one hurdle too big to leap. Their ramshackle sound (carefully planned ramshackle, of course) is still as powerful as ever, but the entire thing is falling apart before their eyes. Songs of mutual hate and recrimination ("Can't Stand Me Now") end up at the elegiac "What Became of the Likely Lads?", which works as both a plea for the band to continue and an admission of defeat. Rumours of their reunion notwithstanding, this was a perfect last statement.

18. Locksley - Don't Make Me Wait (2007)
Yeah, I know. This is the sort of album serious music fans are supposed to sneer at. It's just great songs. There's nothing new or challenging about it. It sounds like the Beatles. Yada yada yada. Here's the thing: these guys do have a similarity to the Beatles, but it's as if Lennon and Macca from '63 suddenly fell out of a time machine and discovered punk rock. The songs, each and every one of them, are perfectly structured pop, bursting with hooks and infectious energy. It's a little sad that we live in a music climate so jaded that something this awesome is met with not much more than a yawn.

19. Pat Todd & The RankOutsiders - Outskirts Of Your Heart (2007)
Ex-mainman of the Lazy Cowgirls Pat Todd released this opus to little or no fanfare. Two discs and 28 songs, ranging from sparse folk to the raging garage punk that the Cowgirls excelled at. Todd has a way of melding every style of Americana into a glorious, decadent whole and his guitar leads come straight out of the tradition of Johnny Thunders, which is to say they shouldercheck the rest of the band out the way and fight for space. This is a sprawling, messy, warts'n'all work about crushed dreams and the loss of youth, and it joins the Bicycle Thief as one of the most profoundly personal releases of this past decade.

20. The Drive-by Truckers - Southern Rock Opera (2002)
"Truth in advertising. Southern Rock Opera is exactly what it announces in its title. A 2 CD opus that doesn't merely recount the rise and fall of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but uses the tragic story of that classic band as a thread to hang ruminations on life, death, and all things south of the Mason-Dixon line. The clean three-guitar attack of Skynyrd has been updated into punky blasts of murky alt.country, with the band's twang and drawl front-and-center. Kinda fun, kinda profound, and - by the end of the 8 minute closer "Angels and Fuselage" - kinda heartwrenching." (RP 2002)

Best of the '00s

1. The Strokes The Modern Age
2. Ike Reilly Hip Hop Thighs #17
3. Ted Leo + the Pharmacists Timorous Me
4. The Bicycle Thief Max, Jill Called
5. The Exploding Hearts Throwaway Style
6. Little Jackie The Stoop
7. The Weakerthans Reconstruction Site
8. Viva L'American Death Ray Music Baby Lightning
9. The Hold Steady Your Little Hoodrat Friend
10. Tsar Silver Shifter
11. The Jim Jones Revue Hey Hey Hey Hey
12. Grand Mal First Round K.O.
13. You Am I Kick A Hole In The Sky
14. Spoon The Beast And Dragon, Adored
15. Roman Candle You Don't Belong To This World
16. J. Roddy Walston & The Business Rock And Roll The Second
17. The Libertines What Became Of The Likely Lads
18. Locksley All Of The Time
19. Pat Todd & The RankOutsiders Don't Cry Baby, You Ain't Getting Old
20. The Drive-By Truckers Shut Up And Get On The Plane